Nintendophiles 03.22.07
Posted by Theo Fraser on 03.22.2007
Two-player Mario Galaxy? A Wii hard drive? Resident Evil this year? Katamari to a Nintendo console? A lot of questions are raised in this week’s Nintendophiles, and to find out the answers, you’ll have to come inside and see for yourself!
So I completed Twilight Princess at the end of last week. Go me! Seeing as that was my only Wii game, I went out and bought Red Steel as the reviews have been so mixed, I really wanted to check it out for myself. I've only played an hour so far, so it's far too early for me to judge, but it does seem to be taking me a while to get a hang of the control system. I'll give it a bit longer before I pass my decision.
Friday brings a whole slew of games to the UK, two of which interest me in particular. I really have no clue which to buy. The Godfather for the Wii, or S.T.A.L.K.E.R on the PC. The Godfather looks pretty awesome, with some of the best Wii-specific controls we've seen yet. However, I've been waiting for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. for the entire span of its 5 year development time, although preliminary reviews are suggesting that it's a bit buggy and not the amazing, revolutionary shooter we thought it might be. Still, I can't ignore the fact that I've wanted it for so long. Plus, I REALLY want Jade Empire: Special Edition on the PC as well, as I recall being extremely jealous of Xbox owners when it was released a few years ago. Such a dilemma! I might have to resort to the ol' Rock, Paper, Scissors. Although how that works by myself I have no idea…
Super Mario Galaxy to feature a two-player mode?
Credit: Wii.com
Last week I brought to you the brand new Super Mario Galaxy trailer, shown to the world at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. Since then, word has been thrown around that Galaxy will receive a much sought-after two-player mode, which hasn't been featured in a traditional console Mario game since Super Mario World on the SNES (or Super Mario All-Stars, if that counts).
The news surprisingly comes from the official Wii website, Wii.com. On the Super Mario Galaxy page (which can be found here), it lists "Players: 1-2," which would go a long way in confirming this multiplayer aspect of the game. This news was first reported at the beginning of the week, and 3 days later the page remains unchanged. After the big sites picked up this news, if it had been a mistake, Nintendo would SURELY have corrected it by now, leading me to believe that Super Mario Galaxy does indeed contain play for more than 1 player.
Of course, we don't know what kind of 2-player mode it might actually be. It could just be a bunch of mini-games, like in the recent Mario games on the DS such as New Super Mario Bros. Then again, it could be the co-op we've been waiting for since the SNES days. Miyamoto has mentioned countless times that he would love to feature a co-op mode with Luigi, and one would think that the Wii would be the perfect vessel for such an idea to come to fruition. There's also the matter of how the two-player mode would work. Split-screen? Wi-Fi? It's enough to make me tingly downstairs! As soon as I hear any more on this situation, you'll be the first to know!
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles still on track for 2007
Credit: CVG, Wired Blogs
Late last week, Ramon Aranda brought to you the news of Capcom's first Wii game, entitled "Treasure Island Z," which was going to have a speedy development and would most likely be their first Wii game to be released. However, earlier today Wired Blogs got word from Capcom themselves that Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (the Wii-only Resi title) is still on track for a release before the New Year.
It's certainly good news, I'm sure you'll agree, albeit very surprising news. With only one very short trailer to show for the game, it was assumed that the game had been pushed back until 2008. Whilst we have yet to see any official screenshots, Capcom have assured that the game is still scheduled to meet its deadline. Super Mario Galaxy is to go on sale shortly before Christmas, and you'd have to be insane to put out a title in that same timeframe, so if Capcom are telling the truth, Umbrella Chronicles should be with us in late Fall. I'd like to believe that, but I won't hold my breath. Capcom need to give us some proper details on the game first, and then I'll reconsider.
In other Capcom-related news, also from Wired Blog, Capcom are supposedly going to announce another new title in the next few weeks. It has not been confirmed whether or not this will be a Wii title, but keep an eye on 411 Games for any breaking news regarding this matter.
For everything we know about Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and how I think Capcom could make great use of the Wii hardware, check out one of my earlier editions of Nintendophiles from back in November.
At the weekend, the ‘news' broke from a Japanese gaming magazine ("GameLabo") that claimed that Nintendo executes had held a secret meeting recently to discuss the idea of releasing an external hard drive for the Wii. This talk supposedly came about after many reports of people filling the Wii's internal Flash memory already with game saves and Virtual Console downloads.
However, speaking to GamesIndustry, a Nintendo of Europe representative has just completely dismissed such talk as being "pure rumour and speculation." So that settles that. No external hard drive for the Wii, for the near future at least. Nevertheless, the representative was able to confirm one piece of gossip that has been circulating for a week or two, and that is the release of a Nintendo-produced headset for the DS. The representative went on to say that its release would coincide with the US launch of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, which goes on sale April 22nd. If the headset turns out to be of good quality, (which it should coming from Nintendo) then this is great news. As of right now, we don't know what kind of features would be included in the headset (I'm assuming that a microphone would be attached to it, which would greatly ease the use of the mic in online games that enable such a feature, like Metroid Prime: Hunters) but if this headset is going on sale in a month's time, I'd imagine Nintendo would be pretty sharp to get some official details out to the public.
Mii Channel was originally destined for the DS
This isn't major news, but an interesting titbit for you to enjoy. On the official Japanese Wii site, Iwata-san spoke to the developers of the Mii Channel, and discussed how the concept was originally produced for the Nintendo DS. Here are the shots of what it would have looked like, and its progression to the Wii version we all know and love:
Katamari rolling onto the Wii?
Credit: C3, Orange Lounge Radio
(Don't get too excited, that was a PS2 shot)
So it was ‘announced' that the Katamari franchise will be making its way to the Wii this year, with Beautiful Katamari, also destined for the PS3 and Xbox 360. I say this hesitantly, as the news comes from a site called Orange Lounge Radio. It's not exactly Famitsu, is it?!
The game is being developed by Bandai Namco, with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions hitting stores on October 17th, with the Wii version to follow almost a month later on November 14th.
Now, Orange Lounge Radio may not seem like the most likely source of reliable information, but it's worth noting that OLR announced Karaoke Revolution: American Idol for the PS2 before anyone else in the world, and had the exclusive on Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin going into production for the DS. Therefore, it's entirely possible that this is a genuine world exclusive. Fingers crossed, as Katamari Damacy was a riot, even if it was totally insane.
First promotional trailer for KOEI's ‘Opoona'
Looking around various message boards and forums, people are already writing this off as another generic Japanese RPG, but I think that's being a little too hasty. Remember the quality of the staff involved in the project; Sachiko Sugimura of Dragon Quest fame, Hitoshi Sakimoto (worked on musical score for FFXII), and art director Shintaro Majima, among others. It certainly looks pretty wacky, which suits me just fine, although I hope it's not deemed too wacky for a Western audience, as is often the case. Being a massive RPG fan, I expect I'll be revisiting Opoona in the near future. In the mean time, I'm gonna try and figure out a joke linking ‘Opoona' and ‘Wii'. It's in there somewhere…
Great Nintendo Gaming Moments #3: First encounter with a zombie!
Great Nintendo Gaming Moments debuted with a SNES moment, progressed to an N64 moment, and for the third entry moves to the Gamecube and a certain REmake of a classic PS1 game. Yes, in theory this is a Sony Moment (if you're being particularly pedantic) but it looks so much better on the Gamecube…so there! The moment in question is from Resident Evil, mere minutes into the game, when you first come face to face with a rabid, flesh-eating monster…the first of many, should you see the game to its end.
Playing Resident Evil, I always select Jill Valentine, because let's face it; boobies are more fun than cock. So there she is, sweet little Miss Valentine, running around the mansion by herself, minding her own business, when all of a sudden you turn a corner to see the single most disturbing thing since Mae Young gave birth to a hand. A zombie, chomping on your mate's face as if he were a Sunday roast. And then the zombie notices you…
You see that gun in your hand, Jill? Yeah, now might be a good time to use it. Thing is, the zombie is standing about a metre in front of you. Of course, Resi pros know to run back down the corridor and take aim, but noobs to the series are rooted to the spot, terrified by what they see as they furiously try to unload a round into the mound of rotting flesh. And then it grabs hold of you…
If you still haven't wet yourself by this point, your exceptional bladder control should be commended. It's petrifying stuff, and the creepy atmosphere doesn't exactly help matters. Lightning flashes are seen through the window, occasionally lighting up the dimly-lit corridor to reveal the horror in front of you. The moment serves as a perfect taster for what to expect throughout the adventure, giving you a whole mixture of emotions from the sinking feeling of "Holy shit, it's going to eat me!" to the elation of "I actually killed it?!!" The tight corridor also provides a claustrophobic enclosure, reminiscent of the ‘survival' part of the game; you've got nowhere to run or hide. Resident Evil is a truly classic game, as evident by Capcom's decision to remake it in the first place, and it is moments like this that show why Resident Evil is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the Survival Horror genre. Sure, everyone's more likely to remember their first encounter with the Tyrant, or the sickening screams of the mutated Lisa Trevor, but the moment you first lay eyes on a Resident Evil zombie is a pivotal moment in your gaming life. You're scared senseless…but you know this game is gonna be frickin' awesome!
The 411 Games Crew
Joshua Richey returns! Yes, the Joshmeister is back, and he brings with him the Digital Pulse! In the re-debut of the column, Joshua asks game developers to stand to attention and take note of the things that really drive gamers up the wall. Welcome back Joshua, even if you are a dirty Xbox fan. :)
Vincent Chiucchi's Gaming Trends this week turns to the matter of online gaming, and how prevalent it has become for gamers in this day and age. Vincent takes you through the journey of online gaming for consoles in this week's edition.
Tommy Coloma has an urge for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in the latest edition of The Negative Edge News Report
The PS3 launches in the UK this week (so I hope you've mortgaged your house in preparation), and Andrew Mellick is here to cover the occasion in this week's edition of The SIXAXIS.
The Select and Start News Report by Vincent Chiucchi is up, which all you Nintendophiles out there need to check out, as he has the news on a NiGHTS sequel coming to Nintendo consoles in the near future.
Shawn Struck gives you The Code Games News Report, which is chock full of Nintendo goodness this week, and features a clip of the ill-fated Donkey Kong Racing. Man, I wanted that game so much! Damn you Rare! DAMN YOU MICROSOFT!
Tommy Coloma's Negative Edge News Report gives you the lowdown on the backwards compatibility issues on the PS3, as well as the Final Fantasy XIII graphics engine.
In this week's Fun Factor, Cory Moore tackles the worldwide phenomenon that is Pokemon. Gotta catch ‘em all!
Steve McHugh presents this week's Flashback, this time turning his attention to the games based off of Marvel Comics.
Sean McCabe finishes his look into the Clock Tower games, with the series' foray onto the PS2. It's scary stuff, and a must-read for anyone who considers themselves a fan of the Survival Horror genre. The Retrospective is just one click away…
Damian Sarcuni braves the issue of in-game advertising, and the pros and cons of such a feature. Check it out in the latest Angry Gaming.
And once again, make sure to add us as a friend on Myspace! And put us Number One! Go on, you know you want to. For some reason my HTML skills are failing me, so I can't directly link you to it, but the address is pretty simple (www.myspace.com/411mania). Also, be sure to check out the 411 Games Myspace page at (also very simply) www.myspace.com/411games. That's all for now folks, see you all next week!
